This invention relates generally to roofing materials, and more particularly to an underlayment material for a roofing shingle system. Most known roofing shingle products are traditionally comprised of a headlap portion and a buttlap portion. The headlap portion of the roofing shingle provides part of the weather resistance of the roofing shingle, such as water and wind resistance, as well as other weathering characteristics. Traditionally, the headlap portion accounts for over fifty percent of the vertical width of the roofing shingle. In an effort to reduce manufacturing and delivery costs as well as to ease installation of the roofing shingles, alternate headlap construction roofing shingle configurations have emerged into the marketplace. Several examples of such alternate headlap construction roofing shingle configurations can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,779, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In order to maintain acceptable weathering characteristics of such alternate headlap construction roofing shingles, it is necessary to install an intermediate layer between the roof deck and the roofing shingle to replace the traditional headlap portion of the shingle. Several of such intermediary layers are known, such as the interply layer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,779 incorporated above. However, such intermediary layers often significantly increase the complexity of the installation of the alternate headlap construction shingles, as well as create a potential for compromised wind and waterproofing performance. Hence, there is a need for an improved intermediary layer for use roofing shingles having alternative headlap portion constructions.